SHIMMER news and notes

SHIMMER – WOMEN ATHLETES is pleased to formally announce the addition of YUMI OHKA to its October 27th & 28th weekend of events at the Berwyn Eagles Club (6309 26th Street) in Berwyn, IL! Volumes 49-52 of the SHIMMER series will be filmed during the course of that weekend.

Last year, Yumi Ohka made her SHIMMER debut in tremendous fashion, against inaugural SHIMMER Champion Sara Del Rey on SHIMMER 41. The match served as an excellent example of why Ohka is one of the top stars in her home promotion, Pro-Wrestling WAVE. Yumi also battled another SHIMMER vet in Serena Deeb, as well as some of the younger, rising stars on the SHIMMER roster, including Courtney Rush and Mia Yim. During those bouts, Ohka put her arsenal of kicks and suplexes on display for the Berwyn fans. In less than six weeks, Yumi joins the Joshi4Hope crew once again for her second American visit.

Yumi joins the following previously announced competitors who will participate in the SHIMMER 49-52 tapings: SHIMMER Champion Sweet Saraya Knight, SHIMMER Tag Team Champions The Canadian Ninjas, Cheerleader Melissa, MsChif, Mercedes Martinez, Allison Danger, Leva Bates, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Ryo Mizunami, Kana, Tomoka Nakagawa, Athena, Christina Von Eerie, and Allysin Kay. Look for more names to slowly be revealed during the remaining weeks leading up to the events. Over 30 of the top female wrestlers from around the world will be a part of the festivities!

General admission tickets for the SHIMMER 49-52 events are still available at a cost of $30 per full day of taping (two full length DVDs worth of live matches each day), and can be purchased online right now by visiting http://www.shimmerwrestling.com/ and ordering by PayPal. If you would like to purchase tickets via money order, please E-mail [email protected] for mail order instructions.

In addition to SHIMMER 49-53 on October 27th & 28th at the Berwyn Eagles Club, our friends at AAW: Professional Wrestling Redefined will present “War Is Coming” in Berwyn that Friday night, October 26th. Already signed is a SHIMMER Title Match pitting Saraya Knight against former SHIMMER Champion MsChif! Also announced so far are Athena, Christina Von Eerie, and Nicole Matthews. Visit http://www.aawrestling.com/ to purchase tickets.

Make your plans now to be a part of the weekend of SHIMMER tapings which will include the milestone SHIMMER 50 event. Mark your calendars, and join us live!

Here’s a look at the other most recent additions to the SHIMMER 49-52 talent pool…

One of the standout stars of the last set of SHIMMER tapings was “The Wrestling Goddess” Athena. With her fantastic agility and overall athleticism inside the ring, she has quickly grown into one of the most popular SHIMMER competitors. Athena‘s rivalry with SHIMMER original Mercedes Martinez helped to firmly establish Athena as a major player within the SHIMMER ranks. Excellent outings against Nicole Matthews, Sassy Stephie, and international high flying star Ray earlier this year only served to cement her position. Athena will also appear at AAW on 10/26, the night before SHIMMER.

Another of SHIMMER’s true rising stars here in 2012 is Christina Von Eerie. Upon her arrival, she immediately battled with established SHIMMER veterans including Sara Del Rey, Mercedes Martinez, and Cheerleader Melissa. Christina later went on to form the successful “MSEERIE” tag team with former SHIMMER Champion MsChif, both in Berwyn as well as on the SHINE events in Florida. Earlier this year, Von Eerie had the chance to step in the SHIMMER ring against foreign talents including LuFisto, Kana, and Kalamity. She is certainly someone to keep your eyes on, both in the singles picture as well as with MsChif in the tag team division. Christina will also appear at AAW on 10/26, the night before SHIMMER.

As was first revealed by Lenny Leonard during commentary on the SHINE 1 iPPV, one of the women who will be making her SHIMMER main show debut on October 27th & 28th is Detroit’s Allysin Kay. She previously appeared at the Berwyn Eagles Club as part of the SPARKLE pre-show bouts just prior to SHIMMER 41 during late 2011. During recent months, Allysin formed the “Made In Sin” tag team with partner Taylor Made at the initial SHINE events. We look forward to seeing what Allysin Kay brings to the SHIMMER main roster in less than six weeks.

After having to miss the last set of SHIMMER tapings due to her busy schedule in Japan, the Joshi4Hope office has arranged for Tomoka Nakagawa to return to SHIMMER competition next month. Nakagawa has had some of the most exciting matches of the past several years inside the SHIMMER ring, often crossing paths with her rival Ayumi Kurihara.

Tomoka and partner Daizee Haze made history by capturing the SHIMMER Tag Team Championship in a high impact tag team bout against Hiroyo Matsumoto & Misaki Ohata on SHIMMER 40, only to lose them on SHIMMER 41 to the team of Kurihara & Ayako Hamada. Nakagawa later went on to trade victories with former SHIMMER Champion MsChif, as well as take on Kalamity in singles action.

“The World Famous” Kana made her American professional wrestling debut in late 2011, appearing for both SHIMMER and CHIKARA. Upon her U.S. arrival, Kana refused to even shake the hands of any of the other competitors on the roster, including SHIMMER originals such as Cheerleader Melissa and Sara Del Rey. However, following an intense battle against Canada’s LuFisto, Kana finally deemed a competitor on the roster as having earned her respect, and shook LuFisto‘s hand.

Through her friendship with LuFisto, Kana slowly began to accept the other members of the roster, granting post-match handshakes to additional opponents in subsequent matches. The two went on to form a successful tag team in early 2012, competing in a memorable hard hitting match against Hailey Hatred & Kalamity, as well as a bout against the “MSEERIE” duo of MsChif & Christina Von Eerie.

On the singles side of things, Kana has faced many of the staples of the North American women’s wrestling scene in SHIMMER, from LuFisto to Del Rey to Melissa to Mercedes Martinez. She also squared off against fellow globetrotters Mia Yim and Kellie Skater. Having already proven her worth in both the singles and tag team ranks, next month Kana will make her third trip to Berwyn for SHIMMER competition!

Ryo Mizunami comes to us from the Pro-Wrestling WAVE promotion in Japan, through the assistance of the Joshi 4 Hope office. Mizunami made her wrestling debut in 2004 for GAEA, but would later get the bulk of her early experience under the guidance of Meiko Satomura at SENDAI Girls’ Pro-Wrestling beginning in 2007. Known for her strength, Mizunami has an array of suplexes in her arsenal, including a very effective Uranage. Not only will Mizunami be a part of SHIMMER 49-52 in Berwyn, but she will also participate in NCW Femmes Fatales X on November 3rd in Montreal to complete her first tour of North America.

Leva Bates has made it no secret that she and “Regeneration X” tag team partner Allison Danger are focused on capturing the SHIMMER Tag Team Championship. At the recent SHINE 2 event in Florida, Leva scored a big victory in a singles match against one of the current titleholders, Portia Perez. After the match, Leva proclaimed on the microphone it was just the first step to Re-X taking down The Canadian Ninjas and becoming SHIMMER Tag Team Champions.

Hiroyo Matsumoto made her SHIMMER debut at SHIMMER 30 in April of 2010, and quickly made a strong impression on American fans with her outings against Sara Del Rey, LuFisto, and Mercedes Martinez. She later went on to win the SHIMMER Tag Team Championship along with partner Misaki Ohata in early 2011 at SHIMMER 37. After a brief title reign, Matsumoto began to focus on singles competition in SHIMMER. In late 2011, Hiroyo battled the likes of Nicole Matthews, Kellie Skater, and Jessie McKay, and also challenged then-SHIMMER Champion Madison Eagles at SHIMMER 42, which was Hiroyo’s first SHIMMER main event bout.

Though she was forced to miss the last set of SHIMMER tapings due to her busy schedule in Japan, the Joshi 4 Hope office has arranged for Hiroyo to return to North America during late October, to compete not only for SHIMMER in Berwyn, but also for NCW Femmes Fatales on November 3rd in Montreal!

Discuss the SHIMMER 49-52 tapings in the following thread at The SHIMMER Forum…

Tickets went on sale last week for the SHIMMER 53 event, which will take place on April 6, 2013 at the Meadowlands Expo Center in Secaucus, NJ, just a few miles away from the location of WrestleMania the next day. The event will be a part of WrestleCon, which will also feature live events from CHIKARA, Dragon Gate USA, Combat Zone Wrestling, EVOLVE, Kaiju Big Battel and $5 Wrestling Live at the Meadowlands Expo Center that weekend.

Front row seating for SHIMMER 53 sold out within a matter of hours, as well as about half of the second row tickets. If you’re planning on attending the event and would like a ringside seat close to the action, don’t delay in picking up your tickets. Second row tickets are $40, while General Admission tickets are $25. The SHIMMER 53 tickets are being sold at http://www.wrestlecon.com/ rather than through SHIMMER itself. Head over there to pick up your tickets!

Look for an important SHIMMER related announcement to be made as part of the iPPV broadcast this Friday!

Volumes 45 & 46 in the SHIMMER DVD series are now in stock and available exclusively from http://www.shimmerwrestling.com/ for immediate worldwide shipping! We have several handy multi-DVD packs to choose from in order to save on shipping. Below are the match lists & running times of the newest releases in the SHIMMER series.